From wild ride to wilderness, Marcos Ambrose finds power in the quietest places

Advertiser content: When NASCAR and V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose retired from racing, he and his wife Sonja thought they might just sit back and take it easy in their beloved Tasmania, but life had other plans.

Advertiser content: When NASCAR and V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose retired from racing, he and his wife Sonja thought they might just sit back and take it easy in their beloved Tasmania, but life had other plans.

“I love fishing and walking,” Marcos explains, “and I can combine the two in the Thousand Lakes area – it’s my playground.

“You can walk wherever you want and there are literally over a thousand lakes to fish.

“It’s about letting your imagination run wild and going as far as your legs will take you.”

“No day’s the same. No trip’s the same. No adventure is the same,” he adds.

“It’s always different.”

A wild undertaking

A few years ago, Marcos transformed his passion for the region into a labour of love, embracing a unique opportunity to save a few buildings on the plateau that had been used as a training base for Antarctic expeditions in the 1980s.

But gone are the days where tourists are happy with tents, backpacking or spartan accommodation.

“Time’s change – people want comfort, too,” Marcos says.

“I saw an opportunity to save these buildings from being pulled down to recreate something new.”

From wild ride to wilderness, Marcos Ambrose finds power in the quietest places

Create your own adventure

When the sun sets, and the sky reveals millions of stars and the sort of pure silence impossible to experience in the world’s more populated places, it’s easy to remember that the plateau was barely a destination until the Lodge opened its doors.

Kubota plays a major role in making sure guests are kept safe and warm.

Many people thought Marcos was taking on too much when he started to turn the derelict site into a world-class tourist destination.

“I made a commitment to realise my vision,” Marcos says.

“It’s not just a business for me, it’s about minimising environmental impacts, repurposing an old piece of industrial infrastructure to create a modern contemporary space.

“A place for people to enjoy this special landscape and share Tasmania’s world class wilderness.”

“The harsher the environment, the better the lodge feels.

“The better the day is outside, the more you want to be out there exploring.

“Everything slows down, and the environment just soothes you and allows you to find what you most need.